The ‘Living Learning Lab’ Garden at SRJC Petaluma Campus – Phase 2

Project Description

This was an exciting two phased project. For the first phase, a big crew of amazing volunteers sheet mulched the once water-guzzling lawn and later in the fall volunteers planted the food forest. We planted a gorgeous variety of edibles, habitat providers, and culturally important native plants. We also finished a dome-shaped trellis that will serve as an “outdoor classroom” with seating. This diverse garden will provide food for students and food for thought!

The Living Learning Lab was conceived by students from Daily Acts’ 2014 Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) course. They collaborated with the SRJC to design an educational demonstration garden as their class project. The garden will serve as a demonstration for lawn removal as a drought measure, but really it’s about so much more. Imagine a space where students can learn professional landscaping skills, display sculpture installations, study ethnobotany, create botanical drawings, discover complex ecological interactions, chat with friends beneath ripe persimmons, and glean for the food bank on campus.